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Divas
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| Frieda Hempel (1885-1955) was born in Leipzig and later took American citizenship.
Renowned as a Mozart soprano, she was also the first Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier) at Berlin in 1911 and the New York Metropolitan in 1913, where she sang regularly until 1919, then turned mainly to concerts.
She added fluent coloratura technique to wide-ranging tonal purity.
Amelita Galli-Curci (1882-1963) was one of the first coloratura stars of gramophone recording. Born in Italy, she studied the piano and was largely self-taught as a singer, producing a silvery soprano to adorn the lyric coloratura repertory of Rossini, Donizetti and Verdi, whose Gilda brought her debut in 1906 and her rise to fame at Chicago ten years later. Geraldine Farrar (1882-1967) was principally a star of the New York Metropolitan Opera where she sang 35 roles between 1906 and 1922. Before that she was at Berlin, where she made her debut as Gounod's Marguerite and studied with Lilli Lehmann. American-born, she was the Met's first Butterfly and the creator of Suor Angelica, among the Puccini roles for which she was much admired. Selma Kurz (1874-1933) excelled in florid coloratura singing as Verdi's Gilda and Oscar (Ballo), but her repertory extended to Wagner's Elisabeth and Puccini's Tosca. Born in Silesia, she was engaged for the Vienna Court Opera under Mahler, and in 1904-07 she threatened the supremacy of Melba at Covent Garden; in 1916 she was the first Zerbinetta in Strauss's revised Ariadne at Vienna. Mabel Garrison (1886-1963) was born in Baltimore. After her debut as Philine in Mignon at Boston in 1912, she was engaged for the Metropolitan Opera, New York, where she had a continuing success in the lyric coloratura repertory, and appeared also in Chicago and in Europe, mainly Germany. Alma Gluck (1884-1938) went with her parents to New York soon after she was born in Bucharest. She made her debut as Sophie in Werther in 1909 with the Metropolitan company at the New Theatre, sang three seasons of opera, then turned almost completely to concert singing, which produced recordings of outstanding purity of tone and line. Maria Ivogün (1891-1987), a teacher of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, was a coloratura soprano of innate personal charm as well as vocal fluency. Born in Budapest, she was engaged by Bruno Walter for Munich in 1913 and sang regularly there and at Berlin, with special success in Mozart and Richard Strauss (notably as Zerbinetta). Sigrid Onegin (1889-1943) was born in Stockholm of French and German parents. She sang Carmen for her debut at Stuttgart in 1912, and won an international reputation in London, New York and elsewhere. Vocally a mezzo-contralto with an extended top, she was specially admired as Gluck's Orfeo and in Wagner, but she also successfully sang florid Rossini roles. Lotte Schoene (1891-1977) was a lyric soprano much admired in Mozartian soubrette roles, operettas like Die Fledermaus, and the lighter Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Vienna-born, she sang at the Volksoper and Staatsoper before Bruno Walter engaged her for Berlin, 1926-33. She was also a Salzburg Festival favourite. She later made her home in Paris and took French citizenship. Eidé Norena (1884-1968) the Norwegian soprano, began her career in her native country and only appeared on the international circuit in 1924, at the age of 40, when she sang Gilda in Rigoletto under the baton of Toscanini. Under the guidance of Melba, amongst others, she transformed the light, delicate voice that characterised her earlier years, into an instrument of awesome capacity and flexibility. Rosa Ponselle (1897-1981) was a star of New York's Metropolitan Opera for almost 20 years from her debut in 1918 in La Forza del Destino Frida Leider (1888-1975) was the leading dramatic soprano at the Berlin Staatsoper in the 1920's and 1930's, and a favourite in numerous other opera houses including Covent Garden, 1924-38, in Mozart, Strauss, Verdi and Wagner. She also sang often at Chicago and New York, but she was born and died a Berliner. Her rich and beautiful singing made her recordings an object-lesson to others later. Ninon Vallin (1886-1961) was a leading lyric soprano at the Paris Opéra-Comique from her debut there in 1912 as Micaela, and also sang regularly at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires. Admired in her youth by Debussy (and the first singer of his Mallarmé songs), her well-rounded soprano won success as Mélisande and in Massenet and Mozart. Maggie Teyte (1888-1976), chosen by Debussy to follow Mary Garden as Mélisande in 1908, was renowned in French opera and song. English born, she made her stage debut in Offenbach at Monte Carlo, and returned from Chicago and Boston to become a star of Beecham's British National Opera Company in the 1920's, and also sang in operetta and musical comedy as well as at Covent Garden. Nina Koshetz (1894-1965) was born in Kiev, studied at Moscow and made her debut in St Petersburg in 1913 as Mozart's Donna Anna. She went to America in 1920, and sang in the Chicago premiere of Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges. A lyric soprano of strong personality, she gave recitals with Rachmaninov and Glazunov as pianists, and starred with Charles Boyer in the film, Algiers. Kirsten Flagstad (1895-1962) was Norwegian, and the outstanding Wagner soprano from her Bayreuth debut in 1933 for almost 20 years. She maintained a lasting purity and thrilling beauty of tone, occasionally heard also as Beethoven's Leonore, Gluck's Alceste and (in London) Purcell's Dido. She was still singing majestically into her fifties. Mafalda Favero (1905-1981) was a reigning soprano at Milan's La Scala under Toscanini, who first engaged her there in 1928 as Wagner's Eva. She continued regular Milan appearances to 1943, and again from 1946 to 1950, with particular success as Manon and in verismo roles by Leoncavallo, Mascagni and Wolf-Ferrari. |
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